Table and Teaspoon with the So-called Coffin-shaped Handle
A shape peculiar to America. This type common from 1800 to 1815. Reductions about one-half.
Bolsover himself apparently did not appreciate the importance of this invention, and it remained for Joseph Hancock, one of his apprentices, to develop the idea to a commercial success. He vigorously encouraged the trade in Sheffield, Birmingham and other manufacturing centers, and finally constructed a rolling-mill and made his fortune by supplying the plate to the silversmiths.
The earlier specimens of this Sheffield plate, as it came to be known, had the silver on one side of the copper only, but later attempts were made to improve the appearance of finer pieces by covering the underside of the copper with tin.
Crude as this idea and the old methods of manufacture may seem, compared with modern processes, this old plate found a ready sale. It replaced in many households pewter ware which, until the introduction of Sheffield plate, was the best substitute for sterling silver. It became fashionable for everyday use by the nobility and wealthier families, who put aside their solid silverware to be used on state occasions only. The name “plate,” which is from the Spanish word platte, came to be used generally to designate the imitation of solid silver.
This plate, being such a close imitation of solid silver, was not permitted by the laws of England to bear any stamp whatever prior to 1773, when the town of Sheffield was specially privileged to put upon its product the marks of the makers. These marks, however, were not to bear any resemblance of the lion or leopard’s head, these being the hall-marks of England.
It was not until 1785 that this privilege was extended to the town of Birmingham and other manufacturing centers.
It is curious to note that this law against the imitation of silver, which really dated from the fifteenth century, made a special exception to articles made for the Church.
Sometimes this old Sheffield plate, in addition to bearing the maker’s name, bore the name of the lord or earl for whom it was made, and today these old pieces are more highly valued by their owners than silver which is intrinsically more valuable.